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Elyse Donalson has sadly died aged 78. The actress died unexpectedly on Wednesday at her home in Studio City, her sister, Harriette Meyer, told the Hollywood Reporter. She had enjoyed a successful on-screen career for more than two decades.

Tributes have poured in online for the beloved star, as one fan penned: "She was the one who delivered the magnificently creepy line, 'How does it feel to be damned?' to Paul Rudd. May she rest in peace." A second tweeted: "RIP Elyse," while a third shared a tearful emoji.

Elyse appeared in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and a number of acclaimed shows including St. Elsewhere, The X-Files and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

Born in Texas, Elyse moved to Los Angeles in the 1980s and landed parts on more than two dozen TV series including Doogie Howser, M.D., Anything But Love, Chicago Hope, The Practice and Beverly Hills, 90210.

She appeared alongside Paul Rudd in the 1995 film Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, where she portrayed a woman in a sanitarium who startles Rudd's Tommy Doyle after she's stabbed by Myers (A. Michael Lerner).

Elyse starred as a nun in 1986 on St Elsewhere, a judge in 1988 on Matlock, a nurse in Quantum Leap in 1989 and in the early 2000s she appeared in Jag and The X Files.

She also appeared in a series of TV shows including Our House, Starman, Hardball, Paradise, and Medical Investigation.

Her resume also included 1988's Man Against the Mob, 1991's Locked Up: A Mother's Rage and 1994's Children of the Dark.

When she wasn't acting, Elyse worked at various law firms to make ends meet.

The actress is survived by her sister, nieces, Kellie and Kate, her brother-in-law, Jimmie, her great nieces, Madison, Macy and Piper, and her great nephew, Clay.